Islamic leader: Winston Peters' call absurd

Winston Peters. Photo / Stephen Parker

Suggestion that male refugees should be sent home to fight doesn’t make sense, says Muslim community

An Islamic community leader says NZ First leader Winston Peters' suggestion New Zealand should send male Syrian refugees home to fight was ridiculous and would send the wrong message about New Zealand.

Mr Peters yesterday said government moves to accept 750 more Syrian refugees were the right thing to do and the country could do better but should also cut back on other immigration.

He added: "And if we're going to do it, let's bring the women and children and tell some of the men to go back and fight for their own country's freedom, like we are." That was a reference to New Zealand troops in Iraq.

Hazim Arafeh, president of the Federation of Islamic Associations, said Mr Peters' suggestion made no sense.

"If those people could actually fight they probably would have. But they're refugees. They've left their homes because they're helpless. And they simply can't fight back."

He wondered if Mr Peters was also proposing to train and arm the men.

"You can't just go and fight with a stick. Is that what we're trying to promote in New Zealand? New Zealand is meant to be the best place to bring up families. What does he want to do? Bring more families and then dismantle them."

Mr Arafeh migrated to New Zealand in 2003 from Jordan, which borders Syria.

Dr Zain Ali, head of the Islamic Studies Research Unit at the University of Auckland, said Mr Peters was telling men to go back to "a meat grinder".

"You are saying to them, 'Go and fight for your freedom'. But in Syria at the moment there are, according to the BBC, 1000 different rebel groups - which one do you want them to fight for?"

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Although the Government moved this week to allow an intake of Syrian refugees, it is still refusing to commit itself to increasing the quota in the long term.

Yesterday National refused to give leave for the Green Party's bill to lift the quota to 1000, but Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse said the Government was "open-minded" about it. A decision would be made after the usual review in the middle of next year. Mr Woodhouse and Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully would make a recommendation to the Cabinet.

"But one of the things we have with a set quota is the ability to move in emergency situations as New Zealand has from time to time in the past few generations. The higher the quota, the less our headroom to do that is," Mr Woodhouse said.

The Mangere Refugee Centre was being expanded to take 196 at one time and up to 300 in the case of a mass arrival of asylum seekers.

Mr Woodhouse said Immigration NZ and the Red Cross were also working to ensure those who came could get jobs. He denied the Greens' claims that resettlement was seriously underfunded, saying the Government had invested heavily in trying to improve employment, health and education options for refugees.